Pages

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Ojutai Surprise

The Spotlight Magic Hey Everyone!!! it is the week after the Dragons of Tarkir and I am just so excited for standard play! I can say that I personally had a great time bowling with dice, and playing with the newest cards before they release. I could have done better in my choosing of cards, but my pool wasn't the best. i was stuck on mainly a bant flavored draft deck with bolster as the main archetype. But all in all I had fun with my friends, and that is what they are all about. Or is it????

I pulled a very powerful and surprisingly good mythic that I believe is going to be going under the radar until the Pro Tour. He was a game changer in most of my games. A four drop that really is in my eyes, a powerhouse and standard staple. Yes, I am talking about Ojutai Exemplars. I believe this card has some real potential in this slow meta that has unraveled upon us all. Yes I know, "GW has become almost tier 1 for standard and is fast..." but honestly, that is why you have a sideboard guys. Think of this guy in a UW midrange deck with Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Narset Transcendent. Or in a modern deck based around just noncreature spells? That is a real problem once your opponent gets a 4/4 first strike and lifelink on board after you have tried to kill it. Or, if you go the more aggressive route. He can be a real brute in a heroic deck in mono white devotion type of archetype. his final ability is sort of like AEtherling in his blinking back and forth style. Now yes I know guys, "well modern has so much more removal than standard and how can he compete in such a fast paced block such as modern?" Well it all depends on how your metagame is set up. If you have a store that has a slew of control deck swirling around the top slots, then he an give you that extra edge over their wrath spells and such. If you have burn just cooking up everywhere, then he can give you some life gain and stay on the board with them trying to kill it all the time. Plus his 4 toughness keeps him just out of range of Lightning Bolt and Helixes. Also if you are taking this guy to a Grand Prix, then you will at least have a card that is versatile against several styles of play. You of course may have a problem with the usual affinity, Lotus Bloom, and such, but if you are playing this card then you are more than likely running a deck that has ways to stop or slow down their deck til you can stabilize. Of course, we all know this card isn't for everyone. Yes it is at the four drop slot. and in any kind of deck trying to stabilize or win fast in aggro or midrange, this card has a bit of problems. You will more than likely play him on turn five or six because of his ability or the fact you may know your opponent has a removal spell for him. So he does need some bit of devotion on the turn he is played. But that, does not mean he is a bad card. it actually can mean he is good because he will need to be dealt with by your opponent quickly. And if he can't, then the blink ability along with his lifelink, you will be able to get back on to the advantage after that one turn you play him. Because once you untap your lands. Your whole deck is his trigger. If you are playing control, then you will be using his blink ability to mainly get away from problematic spells. If you are aggressive, then his lifelink and tap ability may actually become useful in distorting a burns ability to kill you quickly. Well I believe that should cover this spotlight for this amazing card I pulled. I will be using him definitely in some future decklists I will be creating. Well, please my fellow fans, tell me what you think and maybe you pulled this amazing card. Tell me your stories or tell me of a card you think fell under the radar and needs a spotlight. tell me in comments below.